Office Depot OfficeMax to Merge

Update: Merger has been agreed to (Bloomberg)

OfficeMax and Office Depot are in talks regarding a merger with a possible deal being made early this week, although talks are still ongoing. Should this merger happen, there would likely be rationalization of the combined store network. Stores that are less than 0.5 miles apart would be at the top of the rationalization list. These are indicated on the map below.

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Wall Street Journal -  Landlords Prefer Deals Like Office Depot-OfficeMax to Liquidations

Financial Post - Office Depot, OfficeMax in merger talks to compete with Staples

Forbes -Office Depot - OfficeMax Merger Would Probably Avoid Antitrust Issues

Reuters -OfficeMax investor says will support Office Depot merger

International Business Times - Office Depot, OfficeMax Merger: Office Supplies Retailers Reportedly In Talks To Merge

The Star - Buyout talks send Staples stocks soaring with biggest intraday gain in 4 years

Best Buy / Future Shop Reduces Canadian Footprint

This morning some Best Buy and Future shop locations announced they were permanently closed announced by signs in their windows.

Here is an article on the closures: National Post

No doubt there are a number of factors that led to this decision including:

1. Online competition & showrooming
2. Proximity of Future Shop & Best Buy in some markets
3. Upcoming entry of Target & the retail pricing war that it will spur
4. Changing economics of Big Box electronics stores

Below is a map of current and closing location, as well as a list of closed locations based on the company's statement (Best Buy). We are continuing to monitor developments & will update the list as we get more information.

View Best Buy and Future Shop Closures in a full screen map

Future Shop Canadian Closures:

22	Calgary - Macleod	7337 Macleod Trail SW	Calgary	AB
6	Burnaby - Kingsway	144 - 6200 McKay Avenue	Burnaby	BC
709	West Kelowna - West Kelowna FS	3600 Carrington Road	West Kelowna	BC
28	Winnipeg - Regent	2 - 1570B Regent Avenue W	Winnipeg	MB
77	Ancaster - Ancaster	#1-1110 Wilson Street West	Ancaster	ON
629	Mississauga - Erin Mills Possibly Converting to Bed Bath and Beyond	3050 Vega Boulevard	Mississauga	ON
635	Barrie - Barrie South (Beside Best Buy)	80 Concert Way Unit 4	Barrie	ON
665	Laval - St. Dorothee	940 Highway 13	Laval	QC
667	Montreal - Forum	108 - 2313 Sainte Catherine Street W	Montreal	QC

Best Buy Canadian Closures:

957	Queensborough	805 Boyd St	New Westminster	BC
981	Nanaimo	4735 Rutherford Rd	Nanaimo	BC
983	Victoria	3501 Blanshard St	Victoria	BC
987	Langford	109-2955 Phipps Rd	Victoria	BC
993	South Surrey	15760 Croydon Dr	Surrey	BC
903	Sherbrooke	1255 Du Plateau-saint Joseph Blvd	Sherbrooke	QC
996	Lachenaie	651 Des Migrateurs St	Terrebonne	QC

Draw of Major Retailers in US - A consistent comparison

We have been analysing the location strategy of many major retailers using AggData information. The depth of it is really great - every location for a large number of retailers.

We did an analysis looking at the average and overall draw for each retailer on a consistent basis and ranked the results in the table below.

How we did it: For each banner, we summed the population around each location that is closer to that location than any other. We included only population within 30km or 18.6 miles of each location. This eliminates overlaps and the problems they cause.

We then summed up the total draw for each banner to calculate its US Draw.

The sources are AggData for the locations and US census populations.

Leons seeking to acquire The Brick

Leon's has offered to buy the Brick for appx. $700 million Leons: 76 Stores The Brick: 230 Stores

Click to read more ...